COMMUNICATION HACKS FOR PARENTS AND TEENS

Are you guilty of horrid parenting mistakes?

Do you commit parenting blunders that are a roadblock to open communication between you and your teen? You need to fix them now and fix them fast to get the green light from your moody teenager.WANT TO DOWNLOAD THE POST AS A PDF?

I know what you’re you’re thinking. No, absolutely not!, I’m not the problem. I’m always there for my children. They know they can come to me with any problem and I will listen and help. Always.

Then, how do you explain the impenetrable wall of silence between you and your teen? Every question gets a grunt in response or is ignored totally.

If your teen sees you as a sanctuary in times of need, why are you so worried about the distance between you?

Why do you feel as if you are strangers? Why do you long for your sweet, loving little boy who clung to you like ants to honey?

Watch the video below to see if you are guilty of parenting mistakes like these:

Yes, his clothes may make him look like a homeless person and the green hair may drive you crazy but they’re his choices. He is not you so allow him time to find his way.

Do you criticize his choices constantly?

Teenagers are sensitive. Remember, he is experimenting and trying new things to find the right fit.

Don’t crush his spirit by fault finding. You may consider it good advice but your teen sees it only as criticism.

Being hypercritical of your teen and his choices affects his self – esteem, and confidence. He may withdraw from you totally and could result in your relationship being severed forever.

So, taking a step back from judgment and criticism allows for a healthy relationship based on open communication to grow.

PARENTING MISTAKE # 3: BEING CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

You’re so used to calling the shots in the family that you’re unable to switch off.

It pays sometimes to be just the minute taker so you note the points of all members.

To step out of the vacuum between you and your teen, you need to listen more than you talk. Listening is a vital parenting skill.

Do you know that parents have mastered the art of not listening to their teens?

Are you guilty of talking at rather than to your teen?

Are conversations between you going on parallel railway lines that will never converge?

Check out this video on how to communicate with your teenager.

Listening to your teen is one of the most important parenting tools. It:

– enables your teen to talk without fear of being judged

– allows you to fuel up on what is going on in his world

– builds trust

PRACTICE ACTIVE LISTENING

Active listening is giving your full attention to what is being said. In this case, focusing 100% on your teen and what he is saying.

Let’s use the example of your teen wanting to talk about extending his curfew.

He wants to go to a concert that is about 45 minutes away from home. The time to get there and back as well as the duration of the concert would make it impossible for him to keep his curfew.

HOW TO DO ACTIVE LISTENING RIGHT

First, stop whatever you are doing to focus on the discussion. Maintain eye contact and nod to show you’re invested in it, Be open to negotiation. Do not allow your fears about the gazillion things that can go wrong to intrude.

Show you are on the same wavelength with verbal clues. State back to him, for example, that you can see the time deadline would be a problem.

Take into account all his reasons for a later curfew. As he explains them, nod and ask open-ended questions to get more information.

Fully concentrate on what your teen is saying. This creates trust and an opportunity for open communication.

Build on this by reacting to what’s going on in your teenager’s life with concern, empathy, and understanding.

Since you allowed your teen to lead the way, it is likely you will come to an amicable arrangement about the curfew.

You’ve now built the foundation for more heart to hearts of this type.

PARENTING MISTAKE # 4: TREATING YOUR TEEN LIKE AN ACCESSORY

When things are strained between you and your teen, do not act as if your teen is an ad-hoc member of the family.

Treat him like a valued member and involve him in family decision making – whatever it is from menu planning to the annual vacation.

Showing respect for his opinions makes him feel that he is important and that he is not merely an appendage.

Continue with the family activities you had before he became a teenager – dinner, exercise together, church, visiting the grandparents on Sunday whatever – keep them going with the expectation that he is a part of them all.

Keep communication open with weekly family meetings. Play to his strengths by asking for his help. This boosts his confidence and self-esteem.

Get into their world. Listen to music with them, watch a show they like or ask them about their favorite social media apps or video games.

A few tweaks like this could go a long way to healing your relationship with your teen.

PARENTING MISTAKE # 5: DITCH THE LECTURES

Have you ever had a bad habit that you tried to break? Biting your nails or cutting out sugar?

Kick this major parenting blunder to the curb – lecturing your teen about his bad habits. A lecture is a one-way process – not a conversation – so your teen tunes you out.

Your know it all attitude ( I’ve been a teen – it’s just a phase – you will grow out of it ) needs a total revamp.

You think you’re giving good advice. It may be good and sound good to you but you were a teenager a long time ago. Things have changed so much that you may be out of step with teenagers today.

Teenagers can be quite dramatic. For instance, If he is going through a break-up, it feels like the end of the world to him. Allow him his feelings. Don’t trivialize them simply because he is young and you know that it will pass.

Quit lecturing. It serves no purpose but to breed anger and resentment in your teen.

PARENTING MISTAKE #6: USING CONVERSATION KILLERS

Loaded, sarcastic questions and comments:

They make your teen defensive and unwilling to enter into any interaction with you.

• Can’t you ever be on time?

• Will you be home after your curfew as usual?

• I hear you but ….

• I understand although I ….

They make your teen defensive and unwilling to enter into any interaction with you.

Your teen gets your concern for his safety and our understanding of the situation

• Tell me more about the accident.

• Then what happened?

• Was anyone hurt in the accident?

Avoid Don’t, Stop, No, Never

Using negative words reinforce negative behavior. They make your teen dig his heels in and refuse to cooperate on anything.

• Don’t break your curfew again• No, you can’t go to the party. Have you forgotten, it’s Grandma’s birthday?• I will never allow you to ever get a tattoo.• Stop texting and start with your homework.

Use do commands

Say yes as in when you’ve done your homework, I’ll drive you to the mall to meet your friends. Instead of you’re not going anywhere until your chores are done.

Say yes to him going to the party if he agrees to leave at an appointed time to be at Grandma’s party.

End these conversation doorstops to begin a better relationship with your teen.

YOUR TURN

Your teen is like a racing car except he has not had the training to drive it. It is your task as the parent to empower him with the necessary skills to drive the car properly.

The best way to do that is to build a relationship with your teen that is based on trust, mutual respect, and understanding.

Let’s recap. Bad communication habits to break are: – Being overly critical of your teen, his choices and his behavior – Not actively listening when he talks to you – Lecturing him about adopting your ‘better’ way of doing things – Using conversation killing vocabulary

This quotation is the perfect motivator to improve your communication skills so you and your teen can engage better in the future

Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of being.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Do you have any tips about parenting mistakes and how to fix them fast?

This is a great read, thanks! Although I also think it’s important to give ourselves a break occasionally and realize that sometimes teens are just teens, and our relationships, while not perfect, will generally improve with time.

I think you should start laying the foundation for a great relationship with your daughter now.Start really listening, go on dates with her and go crafting together now so later things won’t be so hard.

I love this – there are so many ways to support your teen and being critical isn’t one of them. I was recently talking to another parent who had just found that the “if, then” technique really worked for her as well! Planning to try it with my own.

I don’t even know how my parents dealt with me as a teenager — it’s such a rough time; you’re trying to figure out who you are, dealing with puberty, navigating dating for the first time, thinking about your future, and you’re constantly emotional. It is so important to have supportive parents.

These are such great tips Poovanesh – My teen has become an adult, but I still remember the big fights that we had – and often, it is still difficult to connect with him. I think my biggest mistake is being judge and jury. I want him to have the best life, but I have to remember that his best life isn’t the same as my best life, and so I have to let him find his way without judgement from me!

Hi Nicole. I think the key is being prepared to ‘unparent’ during the teen years. We take our parenting too seriously and want to guide and steer them to be the best they can be. This often breeds anger and resentment.